


Said/Unsaid

by 222Ravens



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 2x22, Canon Divergence, F/F, lots more feelings, the mine scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 00:29:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/222Ravens/pseuds/222Ravens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Emma finishes her sentence before Regina starts the spell. That's the catalyst, and everything else that happens from there is half the same, but utterly not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Said/Unsaid

“Regina, I… Look, just… _wait!_ ” Emma protested, turning back around.

 

Something in the stubborn set of Emma's face tugs at Regina. She stops, mid gesture, lowering her hands slightly. Her slim hands tremble a little, with the effort of it. It seems darker in here. Neither of them are sure if it’s an illusion or not. “You need to go.” She repeats, hollowly. “If nothing else… Think of Henry. He’s just lost his father, hasn’t he? Don’t make him lose his mother.”

 

Emma glares, and wonders what it will take to get her to listen. There’s a kind of desperately _tired_ quality to the way Regina looks right now. It frightens her a little, forces her to mind to _focus_. “And what are you?”

 

“I been widely told I don’t _count._ Not as his mother, or...” Regina says, no small hint of bitterness, and closed her eyes.

 

Emma swallows, half shaking her head, trying to avoid the rush of guilt. Even if she’d been right, in a way, with some of the things that Regina had done… At the very beginning? When they’d first met, before Emma knew the truth? There had been no justification for that behaviour, no matter how much she wanted to pretend differently. It was a mess. Hell, they both were, broken and jagged and more than a little bit bitter. But maybe, just maybe, this would work despite that. Maybe, crazy as that sounds,precisely _because_ of that. A thought occurs to her, and blurts out. “What if we shared it? The power? Could we stop it then?”

 

The eyes open. “Are you insane? I told you, it will kill me. What makes you think…”

 

“We’ve done it before, haven’t we?” Emma said quietly, taking a step forward, then another. The air _hums,_ and she forces herself to take a breath, then another, her lungs squeezing with the effort as she draws closer. “Took a long time for me to figure that out. But there was the Wraith coming, and your magic wasn’t working, you couldn’t get the hat to work.”

 

The other woman froze. “You touched my arm…” She breathes, the revelation unsteadying. 

 

Emma nods. “And it worked. So we know we can share magic. We know I broke the curse before. The failsafe is just another part of the curse. That means… We’ve got a shot at breaking it again, don’t we? It makes sense, Regina. Please, let us try.”

 

Regina shakes her head. “The price…”

 

Emma takes a final step forward. “Look, I know. All magic comes with a price. You think I don’t know that? But seriously, Regina… All the magic you’ve done, all the bad things… This isn’t about saving the town, is it? I mean, it is, but…. It’s more than that. It’s about… What, redemption? Through some sort of idiotic self-sacrifice?... Absolution?”

 

She looks away. “In a sense. I'm allowed to want that, aren't I?”

 

“No, you aren't. Because screw that. That’s not being a hero. That’s taking the easy way out." 

“I’m fine with that.” Regina says, unsteadily, looking back at Emma and finding herself quite unable to break the gaze for a second time. "I've never been good at _hero,_. Maybe this is the best I can do.

There’s a razor edge here, the narrowest chance for Emma to turn back, to do exactly the same thing she is accusing Regina of doing. She could still leave. 

The razor edge tilts, and Emma falls.

 

 "I’m not going to let you. Because hell, I don't believe that's the best you can do, but I know it's not the best we can do. If there’s a price, then we’ll pay it. Both of us together. ” Emma reaches out, takes both of Regina’s hands in hers, and there’s a tingle there, a faint trace of _something._ Something important, something that is probably going to change everything, one way or another. 

Magic, she thinks. Perhaps. She can breathe better, now.

 

Regina’s fingers tighten, involuntarily, then loosen as she tries to jerk away. Emma holds firm. “Emma, you don’t have to….”

 

Emma thinks she understands, thinks that it’s not surprising, really. Given what she’s pieced together about Regina’s life, given everything they've been through… It’s understandable that Regina might be like this. She gets it a little too well. Being terrified to accept help, afraid to believe that someone might want to give it. Worried about the consequences, the price paid for any safety or reassurances gained.

 

“Shut up, Regina, and let me help.” Rolling her eyes, Emma reaches inward, _pushes_ at something, and light fills her hands. She almost stumbles back, lets go. There’s something in the air that's pulling at her, a tension that is difficult to contain, tearing at her magic, trying to attack it, find the weak points in herself and destroy them. The trigger has such terrified _anger_ to it, a desperate flailing violence, searching for a source.

 

The light reflects in Regina’s eyes, and they widen, then firm with resolve. Then a different light joins Emma's, of a slightly different colour, and everything feels _right._

 

It occurs to her then, suddenly, for the first time in longer than she realizes. That this is a woman who she probably ought to hate. There’s plenty of reason to, enough people saying she should. Emma just isn’t sure if she’s wants to, isn’t certain any more that she's even able to. 

 

There’s a smell, too, like ozone and _nothingness_ , and it mingles oddly with the aldehydic scent of Regina’s perfume, close enough for Emma to breath both in. The tension builds again, but there’s a different feel to it, this time, something... less destructive. Something that feels like... Things contained, things held. Not trapped, not constricted, just. She doesn’t entirely know how to put the words to it. 

 

Safety, perhaps, but something even stronger than that. Whatever it is, it keeps building, beating back against the conflicting feelings from the stone spinning, and the glow grows brighter, stronger. Emma doesn’t look at the trigger, can’t look at it, too caught by the light reflected in a pair of darker eyes.

 Oh. Hope. 

There’s a blast of energy, a feeling of relief/despair/euphoria/relief, and they are blown apart, their hands letting go of each other as they fall, landing hard on the ground.

A moment passes, then another. 

Emma recovers first, opening her eyes. It hurts, but she can breathe again, fully and properly, and the tension is _gone_  , all of it, leaving just the echoes, like an emotional after-image.With no small amount of effort, she stands. Her first thought is to look for Regina. The other woman is across the mine from her, sprawled, and Emma can't help but move closer. It's not until Emma notices breathing that she bothers to look for the trigger, even thinks of it. Has to force herself to, really, her eyes drawn to the slumped form, instead.

 

It’s cold and silent, lying on the floor, and she steps over it, turns, picks it up. With a single, smooth movement, she throws it against the wall of the mine shaft. There’s a crack, and it falls, shattered. She stares for a second, marvelling that it could be broken so easily, after all of that.

 

There is a groan from the corner, and her heart squeezes. Emma pivots, and limps over, ignoring the dull ache in her hip where she hit the ground, and grasps the Regina's hand again, helping her up. The tingle is still there, but she assumes it’s just an after-effect, an echo of their magical working, like the feeling in her chest, looking into those eyes again. “We did it.” She says, smiling faintly, letting go of the hand.

 

Regina, dusting herself off, pauses, staring strangely. “We did.”

 

Emma stares back, because she isn’t sure what else she’s meant to be doing. There isn’t exactly a roadmap for this.

 

“That was stupid.” Regina says, finally. “You should have… I shouldn’t have let you.”

 

“It worked, didn’t it?” Emma says, her mouth dry. 

 

“It shouldn’t have. It doesn’t make any sense that…” Regina trails off, and her expression flickers, a hint of something in it, something that wasn’t there before. She chuckles, and there’s a strained quality to it. The woman stumbles a little, and leans abruptly against the wall.

 

“Regina?” Emma leans in, reaching out a hand to steady her, grabbing at at Regina's shoulders, her coat, the material smooth on her fingers.

 

Regina waves the hand off, fiercely. “I’m _fine.”_

 

Emma steps back, the heel of her boot hitting a stray rock. She gets it. “We’ll figure it out the ‘why’s later, okay? Let’s get out of here, let the rest of the town know. We’ve still got to deal with Greg & Tamara, and if we can find out where the portal went to, we might be able to figure out…”

 

She trails off, then, because Regina is still staring at her. Looking at her, like she's seeing her. Really seeing, in a way that few people have ever looked at her in her life. Maybe no one, ever. “What?”

 

“I still don’t understand why you did that.” Regina says, her voice soft, hesitant. Wary, even.

 

Emma doesn't know what to make of this moment, so she deflects. It's old habit. “I told you, I… For Henry. For the town, which is pretty much the closest I’ve gotten to a home since I was… Well. A long time, anyway. And… Well.” It’s Emma’s turn to chuckle, now. “Remember when I dragged you out of that fire?”

 

Regina nods.

 

“Well, I promised you that next time I’d save you. And the time after that. And… Yeah.” Emma trails off, and the tingle in her hand still hasn’t quite disappeared. “I’ve seen enough broken promises  in my life that I try and keep them when I can.”

 

Regina is still staring at her, and that flicker of _something_ Emma had seen a minute ago is back. “You know, with the possible exception of Henry… You may be the first person since I was a teenager who ever _truly_ believed I was worth saving. ”

 

"You are." Emma takes another step forward, and when she lays a hand on Regina again, she doesn't flinch back. She looks at Regina's eyes again, and Regina doesn't look away. She leans forward, and Regina is leaning back, her head lowered far enough that her lips can easily brush the woman's forehead, and they do. Regina still doesn't flinch back, but leans into it, her skin smooth and cool, electric in all the places that they collide.

 

It's comfort, and acceptance, and a promise, and a thousand other things besides, and in that brief and perfect moment, it's enough for the both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, critiques, and reviews, as always, will be greeting with endless gratitude, hugs, and apple turnovers. (un-poisoned. I swear)


End file.
